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NFL grant enables 16 Military Surviving Families from TAPS to attend 2017 Pro Bowl

Families will travel from across the country and from overseas to remember their fallen heroes and build new memories together 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2017

ARLINGTON, Va. - Sixteen families who have lost loved ones during their service to the nation will attend the 2017 Pro Bowl weekend beginning Jan. 26 in Orlando, honoring the lives of their fallen heroes and building new family memories together.

The weekend will be filled with opportunities for families to connect with one another, to celebrate their heroes and enjoy a very special experience with the NFL in Walt Disney World and in Orlando. The opportunity is being made possible through a grant provided by the National Football League (NFL) to the  Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a national service organization providing emotional support to the surviving family members of the nation's fallen heroes.

"TAPS is grateful to the NFL for its longstanding commitment to the men and women of our armed forces," said Bonnie Carroll, TAPS' founder and president. "For the families of those who have lost loved ones in military, the NFL has offered extraordinary experiences on the field where they have honored their fallen heroes and cheered on their favorite teams."

For decades, TAPS has been connecting surviving military family members. The organization was founded out of tragedy and connection, when Carroll found healing through being with other families who lost loved ones in the same Army plane crash in 1992.

"We are proud to work with TAPS and give back to the men and women in uniform that sacrifice so much for this country," said NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson. "Celebrating the families of fallen heroes is one of the many ways to honor their legacy."

The TAPS sports program, teams4taps, creates meaningful opportunities for the surviving families of America's military fallen by engaging with​ ​the ​athletes and teams they cheered for with their hero. teams4taps works with more than 100 sports teams across the country, and since its inception in 2013, has touched the lives of thousands of surviving military families.

"The best way to honor the fallen is to recognize their families, a living legacy to their service and sacrifice for the freedom and protection of our nation," said TAPS' Chief Officer, Sports and Entertainment, Diana Hosford. "Being recognized by the league and invited to share in the joy of the Pro Bowl, which showcases the very best of the NFL, means so much to the 70,000 surviving military family members across America."

 

ABOUT TAPS

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is the national organization providing compassionate care for the families of America's fallen military heroes and has offered support to more than 70,000 surviving family members of our fallen military and their caregivers since 1994. TAPS provides peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, grief seminars and retreats for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, case work assistance, connections to community-based care, online and in-person support groups and a 24/7 resource and information helpline for all who have been affected by a death in the Armed Forces. Services are provided free of charge. For more information go to www.taps.org or call the toll-free TAPS resource and information helpline at 1.800.959.TAPS (8277).